This Tuesday, I got the opportunity to attend the private opening of one of two new restaurants in Dallas, K.T. Burger and 5 Creeks Tavern (which will open in June). Located in Highland Park Village, next to the theater, is where your next stop should be.

K.T. Burger is essentially the “Highland Park Hopdoddy” in my opinion. The ordering concept is the same, but the menu is much more diverse. They have the usual burger joint suspects (i.e. burger, fries and shake) as well as an array of other options ranging from fresh salads to mexican food and even hot dogs. It also has a milkshake bar that’s connected to the bottom part of the movie theater… Did I mention they also use Haagen Das ice cream? YUM.

The upstairs part will be 5 Creeks Tavern which has wine tasting and pizza galore. It won’t open until this summer but it’s also a place you should put on your list of places to try.

I was lucky enough to meet and talk to Buddy, who also owns Bandito’s Tex Mex and Katy Trail Ice House. He and his partner are excited to bring such a fun new restaurant into HP Village! The margaritas are amazing so if Mi Cocina is too full on a Friday night, you can walk across the street and grab one from here as well. The only thing that would have made these fries and the burger better were if I could have had some of Bandito’s queso on top. Talk about artery clogging.

They also had a wall of classic sodas, like orange Fanta in the glass bottle, as well as a great selection of beers both on tap and in the bottle.

The comfortable and casual atmosphere is a nice offset to the other restaurants in HP Village, and I foresee nothing but success in it’s future. It’s very family oriented and less demanding in terms of a dress-code, where as it’s other restaurant competitors like Mi Cocina, Café Pacific and Bistro 31 require a little more upscale dress.

I will definitely be coming back and bringing many friends along, so you should too!

If you’re not convinced, you can check out their menu here. The official opening is this weekend so go hungry and leave very happy! Fork Yeah!